Towel cabinet and mechanism therefor



July 9, 1940. AQ c. GRuNwALD 2,206,951

TOWEL CABINET AND MECHANISM THEREFOR l Original Filed Oc't. 7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FQ. 7

I l/l v a'lllllll 48 July 9, 1940. A. c. GRUNWALD TOWEL CABINET AND MECHANISM THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2v original Filed oct. '7, l193s- Patented July v9, 1940 UNITED STATES man.

TOWEL CABINET AND MaoHANIsM 'murieron Albert C. Grunwald, River Forest, lll., 4assigner to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake' City,

Utah, a corporation of Utah Original application October 7, 1936, Serial No. 104,480. Divided and this application Getober 1-9, 1938, Serial No. 235,708

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet or web dispensing apparatus and provides devices which are applicable for handling either washable fabric material or paper or equivalent material.

f; The invention has been herein embodied in a mechanism for handling paper, the supply of which is in the form of a roll, from which lengths of sheets are fed and then torn olf by hand.

This application is divisional of my co-pendng application Serial No` 104,480 iiled Oct. 7, 1936, for Towel cabinet and mechanism therefor.

-Objects are: to improve the automatic feeding means; to simplify the construction, and make r it more compact; to dispose the time-stop and automatic feeding mechanisms at one side only of the cabinet; and to balance the mechanism and make it more positive in action.

Features of the invention relate to the construction of the cabinet; the arrangement of two 20 doors to form a throat through which the paper is fed to be delivered to the use rpthe use of two doors swinging on a single pivot or on a common axis; `the arrangement of the doors to swing downwardly; the use of inner and outer mem- 25 bers, one for the closure of a chamber of a supply roll, and the other for enclosing the first door and also for closing a portionof the cabinet not closed by the first door; the arrangement of a supply chamber below the dispensing mechanism with "Q a separate door for said chamber; the use of one of these members as a separate closure for the supply chamber, and the use ofthe other for giving independent access to the feeding mechanism; the use of a guard in relationto a meas- *35 uring roll and to a closure-formed throat for leading the paper from the measuring roll into said throat; the arrangement ofl the upper end of the inner or supply chamber closure,v at a point near and under the measuring roll so that when the door is closed the upper edge of this member is overhung by a portion of the measuring roll; the use of an element for guiding the paper into the door-formed throat; the use of a cutout in this guiding element so that the paper can be observed and is accessible for adjustment after opening the outer door; and to all details of construction shown, along with the broader ideas of means inherent in the cabinet structure. Another feature of the invention is the provision of three consecutive related chambers spaced transversely of the cabinet andproviding respectively a supply chamber, a chamber for a stop mechanism, and a chamber for a manually operable feeding mechanism, along with means for separately closing the two last mentioned i".

chambers, and with means for separately closing the supply chamber. Another feature is the cooperating of the separate closure means as a throat or paper-guiding means.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear in the description of the drawings forming a part of this disclosure and in said drawings, Y

Figure l is a vertical section taken approximately on line I-I of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the time-stop mechanism and related parts positioned as at the beginning of. timing and before tear-off;

Figure 2 is a plan section taken approximately on line 2 2 of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken approximately on line 3 3 of FigureZ.v

' Although my invention is herein embodied in a paper dispensing apparatus, there is no intention to entirely limit this invention to the dispensing of paper, since it may be applied in dispensing textile fabrics. v

In the drawings, numeral I generally indicates a casing upon the bottom 2 on Awhich rests a supply roll of paper toweling indicated at 3. The casing has a closure member forming the front 4 of the cabinet and merging into a part 5 which forms the top of. the cabinet. The part I is hinged at its bottom to the bottom 2 of the cabinet by means of a pintle t held in eyes suitably formed from the metal of the door and from the metal of the bottom 2. The top portion 5 of the closure, overlappingly engages a bead I of the rear wall 8 of the cabinet and a suitable lock 9 is provided having a tumbler which engages in a slot (not shown) of the bead I.

The lower part of the front portion 4 of the closure is cut out to provide a bottom-delivery opening I for the paper, and arranged adjacent this opening and mounted on the part l is a tearoff knife II having its tear-off toothed edge I2 arranged as shown to project slightly, below the top of the opening I0. Cooperating with the portion i of the closure to form a guide throat is a plate I also hinged on the pintle G. The inward ered the toweling supply chamber, and the back of this chamber is provided with a diagonal stop or wall 22 which provides slight friction and prevents the roll moving against the back 8 of the cabinet.

Arranged above and inwardly from the top of the swing-plate l5, with its forward part close to and overlying the plate, is a measuring roll 25 having a shaft 26 or equivaient means suitably journaling it in and between the plates l8--I9- The plates extend from the front to the back of the cabinet and are secured by any suitable means preferably to the rear wall. The roll 25 has a suitable friction surface, and cooperating with this surface or with the paper lying thereagainst is a pinch roll 2l. The pinch roll has a shaft or trunnions 28 which project at opposite ends through slots 29 of the plates I8 and I9, and suit-able spring means 30 is provided to act on the shafts 28 to yieldably move the roll 2T toward the roll 25. A curved guard plate 3I partly surrounds and is spaced from the measuring roll as shown to form a guide for directing the paper around the roll, and downwardly into the throat 2E! formed by elements 4 and I5. This guard and guide plate has a cutout SIE giving access to the paper for adjustment thereof, lengthwise of the roll.

The paper 32 is brought upwardly from the paper supply roll 3, then between the measuring and pinch rolls 25, 2, then upwardly over the measuring roll, thence downwardly into the throat 2i) formed by plates 4 and I5. The paper assumes the position best shown in Figures 1 and 2, and it will be seen that it is positioned to be .drawn against the teeth I2, and torn by an upward movement from side to side.

Referring to Figure 1 which shows the stop mechanism in stop position: attached to the shaft 26 of the measuring roll 25, is a spur gear 35 meshing with a second spur gear 36 on shaft 31 journaled in plate I8. Also on the shaft 26 immediately adjacent the gear 35 is a ratchet wheel 39, the teeth of which engage with the corresponding teeth of a ratchet bar 40, suitably guided in part by means generally indicated at 4I. A

spring l2 is connected by one end to the top of the rack bar 40 and by the other end to bracket I3 of the plate I8. When the user pulls on the paper, the rack bar l0 is moved downwardly against the action of the spring 42 by means of a roller 55 on the gear 36 acting against a spring arm 45, the outer free end f which cooperates with a slot 41 of the rack bar 40 and to move the rack bar downwardly against the action of the spring d2, to its lowermost position. The ratchet bar 49 has one face sliding against the gears and an opposite face sliding against the inner face of the guide 4I. Thus the rack is kept in alinement so its teeth always properly cooperate with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 39. Any suitable guide means can be used.

After the rack bar has reached its lowermost position, the spring arm 46 and the roller l5 have assumed the position shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 1. The rack or ratchet bar has a shoulder 138 cooperative with shoulder @lil of latch B suitably pivoted at 5I to the plate I8. A spring 52 urges the latch 5I! against a stop 53. to latching position, from which position it is pushed by the curved lower end 55 of the rack bar M2, as this bar travels downwardly toward its final position of Figure 1. Itis, of course, understood that the measuring drives gears 35 and 36 to cause the roller 45 to engage the spring arm 46 and force the ratchet bar to latched position.

During the motion of the ratchet bar from its uppermost position to its lowermost and latched position of Figure 1, a timing mechanism now to be described, is being set so that at the end of a time period it will trip the latch 50 and release the back bar 40, which is then moved upwardly under the combined actions of the springs l2 and 56, to act through its ratchet teeth, upon the ratchet wheel 39, to rotate the measuring roll 25 and feed the paper outwardly to tear-off position. It is noted that the timer (later described) has at this time been moved part way in setting direction.

The timer setting mechanism is generally of the type shown in co-pending application of Birr Serial No. 15,271. This time-stop mechanism herein, comprises a stop arm 60 keyed to shaft 26 of the measuring roll, and a slide stop 6I suitably mounted, by means not shown, to freely slide vertically in the plate I8 across the path of arm 50. This slide stop 6I is connected by an arm 62 with a stem 63 of a plunger type airdisplacing timer, generally indicated at 64. The outer end of the arm 62 acts as a trip, as will be later disclosed. The stem is urged downwardly by means of spring 65 connected by one end to an arm 66 of the stem and by the other end to a projection 61 of a bracket 68 which secures the timer barrel in operative position to the plate I8. The timer has an air vent 69, which operates in a well known manner.

A link 'I0 is pivoted to the slide stop 6I as at 7| and has a slot through which a pin 'III loosely passes, which pin is threaded into the arm 5I). The arm 62 forms a trip for'the latch 50 and engages a shoulder or stop 'I5 of the latch during its downward movement and retracts the latch against the action of its spring 52, thus releasing the ratchet bar 4I] at the end of the time period.

To prevent the arm stop 60 from remaining in frictional contact with the slide stop 6 I, following its impact therewith, and therefore to prevent interference with a downward travel of the slide stop 6l, a back-off mechanism is provided. The back-01T mechanism is associated with the gear 36, and with the shaft 3T of this gear, which is a feature. Referring to Figure 3: On the inside of the plate I8 is arranged a disc 'I6 having a shoulder .I'I which engages with a roller I8 carried by an arm 19 pivoted as at 80, and pressed by the spring 8I toward the disc 16. The back-off position of the parts of Figure 3 corresponds to the spaced relation of the end 80 of the arm 60, see Figure 1, relatively to the slide stop 6I. Just before impact between arm 60 and slide 6I occurs the shoulder 'I'I engages the roll 18, and pushes the arm away from the disc 'I6 slightly. The spring then rotates the disc I6 in the opposite direction to back-off of the arm 60 and thus brings its end 8f! in the spaced relation shown in Figure 1.

Although in most instances there will be no need for manual means other than a pull on the paper to feed the paper or operate the measuring roll, I have thought it best to provide means, in addition to the automatic feeding of the paper after timing, by which the paper can be manually fed out if necessary. It may happen that when my invention is applied to a hand tear-off type of cabinet, as disclosed herein, the user instead of grasping the small accessible portion of the toweling and pulling it to the limit, will tear off this small portion. In such a case the automatic feeding means would not be set for operation mechanism.

following the timing period of the time-stop I therefore provide the following manually operable feed-operating means: Referring now toFigures 2 and 3, on the end of the shaft 26 at thev outer side of the plate `I9, is keyed a ratchet wheel 99 having a pawl 9| to prevent reverse rotation. There is also provided a rack bar 92 having slots 93--94 with pins 95-96 passing respectively therethrough as shown. This rack bar projects through a slot in top of the casing so that it may be pressed downwardly by the nger, and the rack bar is normally held in its upper position by the spring 91, and out of contact with the ratchet wheel 90. The bar is guided by the slots and pins, and when pushed downwardly from the position shown in Figure 3, engages and drives the ratchet wheel 90 to move the measuring roll to project the paper sufciently to be taken hold of. On release the rack bar again automatically assumes the position shown vin Figure 3.

Operation Assuming the rack 49 to be in its uppermost position and the timer stem in its lowermost position, and a portion of the paper to be accessible to the operator; the operator pulls downwardly on the paper rotating the measuring roll in counterclockwise direction, and correspondingly rotating the gear 36 in clockwise direction, and moving the roller 45, to engage the spring 46 at a point near its support. As this motion continues the rack is brought to its lower o-r latched position, of Figure l, and the link 19Vraises the timer stem to the position shown in Figure l. When this position is reached the stop arm 60 has engaged the slide stop plate 6|, and the roller has traveled in clockwise direction to the dot-and-dash line position, whereby its has flexed the spring arm 4B, as shown, and this arm has acted to move the rack 49 to latched position. After the parts have been positioned as in Figure 1, the timer moves downwardly and until the projection 62 engages a shoulder l5 of the latch 50, and trips the latch. As soon as tripping occurs the rack 40 moves upwardly under the actions of the springs 42 and 46, the teethl of the rack cooperating with the teeth of the disc to rotate the measuring roll, and thus automatically feed the paper to accessible position.

The above construction gives a very positive feeding action at the end of the timing period, due to the combined actions of the springsand of course the spring tensions are so proportioned as to permit proper 'operation by relatively light pull on the paper, and Without prematurely tearing the paper. Various grades of paper may be used, and a paper which is tough and at the same time absorbent is preferably used.

For loading the cabinet the door 4 is moved outwardly and downwardly to a position below the cabinet, and the door l5 is moved to a similar position. A supply roll is placed in the chamber with its back against the element 22 and with the paper coming upwardly from its bottom and from the front side of the roll. The paper is then passed upwardly between the pinch roll 21 and the measuring roll 25 and is brought around between the roll 25 and the guard 3l. The roll 25 and the guard are so placed that the forward edge of the paper is guided upwardly then downwardly by the guard. The door l5 is then closed. The door 4 is then brought to a horizontal position and the forward edge of the paper is threaded through the delivery opening, after which the door 4 is then closed, thus forming the downwardly leading feed throat. It is noted that the tear-oi`knife is arranged in opposition to the opening Ill, the paper passing between the knife and the door l5, past the knife,

thence outwardly through the opening.

Referring to Figure 1, it is seen that the door l 5 closes only the central or supply chamber, and that the two laterally-formed chambers are closed only by the door 4. The mechanisms `in the lateral chambers can therefore be inspected without opening the door to the supply chamber, and when the door 4 is opened the paper on the measuring roll can be seen, if the paper supply is not exhausted. Thus the cutout 3lEL serves as means for indicating whether or not there is need for a new supply.

I claim as my invention:

1. A paper dispensing cabinet having, an outer door and an inner door, each movable independently of the other and when in closed position together forming a throat, both doors being hinged on a common pintle, the outer door having a delivery orifice to which the throat leads, and a measuring roll within the cabinet mounted independently of said doors and from which the paper is led into said throat, thence through said delivery orifice.

2. A paper dispensing cabinet having an outer door and an inner door, each movable independently of the other, and when in closed position together forming a downwardly leading throat, both doors being hinged on a common pintle, the outer door having a delivery orifice to which the throat leads and which is near said pintle and bottom of said cabinet, a measuring roll within the cabinet mounted independently of said doors and from which measuring roll the paper is led into said throat, thence through said delivery orice, said outer` door having a tearoff knife with which the paper is in tear-off relation when projected through the orifice. said doors being adapted to swing downwardly to give access to the cabinet.

3. In a paper dispensing apparatus having a measuring roll, a presser roll below and cooperating with the measuring roll, a chamber below both rolls adapted to receive a supply roll and from which supply roll the leading edge of the paper is to be brought and introduced upwardly between said rolls, a member associated with the measuring roll to cooperate therewith to guide the leading edge of the paper after said edge has been passed between the rolls and cause the same to be directed upwardly and around the measuring roll and then forwardly toward the front of the cabinet, said cabinet having a delivery throat into which said member directs the leading edge of the paper after it leaves the measuring roll.

4. A paper dispensing cabinet having a door hinged to swing outwardly and downwardly, said doorhaving a paper delivery orifice near the hinging point, a second door within the cabinet and spaced from the first door and also hinged to swing outwardly and downwardly and forming with the first door a throat leading to said delivery opening, both doors being hinged on a common pintle.

5. A dispensing cabinet having vertical partitions dividing it into a middle supply chamber and two lateral chambers, one at each 'side of the middle chamber, an inner door giving access only to the middle supply chamber, an outer door giving access only to the lateral chamber and said inner door, said doors being independently movable and together forming a delivery throat, a measuring roll defining the upper limit of the supply chamber, mechanism operable bythe roll and arranged in one of the lateral chambers and viewable when said outer door is open, manual means for operating the measuring roll and arranged in the opposite lateral chamber and viewable when the outer door only is open.

6. A dispensing cabinet having vertical partitions dividing it into a middle supply chamber and two lateral chambers, one at each side of the middle chamber, an inner door giving access only to the middle supply chamber, an outer door giving access only to the lateral chambers and said inner door, said doors being independently movable and together forming a delivery throat,

the outer door having a delivery orice to which the throat leads, a measuring roll dening the upper limit of the supply chamber, a stop mechanism for the measuring roll arranged in one or" the lateral chambers and viewable when said outer door is open, and manual means for operating the measuring roll and arranged in the opposite lateral chamber and viewable When the outer door only is open.

7. In a paper dispensing cabinet having a dispensing roll, a plate extending longitudinally of and cooperating with said roll to guide the leading edge of the paper therearound, a presser roll cooperating with the dispensing roll, one end of said plate being near the presser roll, and an opening in the plate also near the presser roll for giving access for adjusting the paper lengthwise of the rolls. 

